Step by Step to the NFL: Padua Alum Dan Molls signs with the San Diego Chargers

Kids across the United States dream of playing professional football each and every day. They set up makeshift fields in the backyard and on the playground, pretending it’s 4th down and the Super Bowl is on the line.

A mere nine years ago, a young man named Dan Molls was tearing up CYO Football games playing for St. Albert the Great in North Royalton. Today, following star-studded careers at Padua Franciscan High School in Parma and the University of Toledo, Molls heads to camp with the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League.

Molls, 22, was signed as a priority free agent shortly after the conclusion of the NFL Draft on April 27th.

“The whole week leading up to it, San Diego had been calling a lot,” said Molls. “They made it very evident that they wanted me to join their team.”

“I knew going in, I had a slight chance of getting picked up,” he continued, noting that he didn’t even watch the draft on TV. “I had seven teams with offers, and San Diego was a situation I couldn’t pass up. It was the best fit for me and the best chance to make the team.”

Of course, signing with a professional team is a major accomplishment for Dan that shows the tremendous amount of work and effort he has put in throughout his career. But as the news began to break on that Saturday evening, hundreds of people in the Padua Franciscan High School community rejoiced in the success of Molls. Not only did he make a huge impact on Padua when he attended the school from 2005-2009, but he continues to give back to the school that is honored to call him its son.

PADUA LINEBACKER/RUNNING BACK: 2005-2009

Tony Shuman and his staff were just taking over the football program at Padua when Molls began attending the school. Shuman says it was clear then that Molls had not only the talent, but the work ethic to succeed on and off the field after high school.

“He was kind of a coach’s dream,” said Shuman. “A real nasty, physical, rough, tough player on the field, and off the field, more than just a great student and a great person. He’s somebody who could work a youth camp and relate so well to the young kids. Heck, I’d trust him to babysit my own kids.”

“He’s the type of person with really strong character. His work ethic is awesome. That’s really been a mark of some of the guys that have done real well on the next level. Not only do they do everything the team expected of them, but they always found time to work above and beyond.”

Shuman says Molls came in as a strong running back as well, but it was clear that he was a needed presence on the Bruin defense. Over his four years at Padua, he was named First Team All-Ohio twice, All-District First Team and All-North Coast League First Team three times each, and was even named North Coast League MVP.

“Playing with all my best friends,” Molls says is one of his fondest memories from Padua. “When you go away to [college], you all go different ways but we had a close group that played together for a while. Being with those guys and being able to play with them and develop those relationships is something I’ll never forget.”

Molls was a hot recruit, especially for Mid-American Conference schools during his Junior and Senior Years. He originally signed with Ohio University, but de-committed and eventually signed with Toledo. Through it all, Dan says he learned to take things one step at a time.

“It’s important to never to get too ahead of yourself and take things one season at a time,” he says. “Just set goals for yourself. I came into Padua just wanting to play varsity football, and then I started getting recruited. Then I wanted to play Division I football. It followed me through my whole career. In college, I just wanted to start and be a factor for the team.”

Was this all a job for Molls? No, of course not. According to Shuman, it was a passion that began at an early age.

“I’ve been around Danny since his grade school years,” said Shuman. “The way he played the game of football was with a love of the game, a passion for a game. Even as a young kid, you could see it.”

Lucky enough for him, the passion helped him find his way into fame at the collegiate level.

TOLEDO LINEBACKER, 2009-2013

From the second Molls stepped onto campus at University of Toledo, he was driven to make an impact on the Rocket Football team. He stepped up and recorded 43 tackles during his freshman year, before things took off during his sophomore season. Molls finished 2010 with 143 tackles (39 solo), which came out to an average of 11 per game.

“Every day, I would do whatever I could to put my team in the best situation to win games,” said Molls. “That’s all I wanted to do.”

But he did so much more than that. He was a team captain for his senior year in which he also garnered Academic All-American Honors (3.63 GPA) and All-MAC First Team accolades. The 6’1”, 222lb linebacker led the nation in tackles during his senior year, bringing down 166 ball carriers in thirteen games played.

“It wasn’t something I was thinking of as I was going through the season,” he says of leading the country in the tackling category. “It’s just a number to me, not a goal of mine. The fact that it happened was cool. I’m a competitor; I just wanted to win and wanted the team to be successful.”

Unfortunately, Molls’ collegiate career ended a little before planned. He went down with a concussion on the opening kickoff of the Idaho Potato Bowl in December and did not return, a painful end to what was a glorious and storied career. His Rockets ended up falling to Utah State, 41-15.

But his days on the gridiron were not over yet.

TODAY: THE NFL AND GIVING BACK TO HIS HOME

Molls says he started getting calls around the fifth round of the NFL Draft and eventually was signed as a priority free agent with the Chargers. This will get him into training camp, but nothing after that is guaranteed. Nevertheless, he’s excited for the coming weeks as he is now in San Diego preparing.

“Honestly, I’m just excited about my whole journey and how I’ve gotten here,” said Molls. “I’m excited to go out and represent Padua and the University of Toledo and all of the places I’ve been. I’m excited for the chance to prove that I can play at that level and to make a name for myself.”

“The whole experience itself is going to be great. It’s something I think only 2% of college football players get a chance to do. It’s a pretty special deal and something I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to do.”

Through it all, Molls states his parents and coaches as people who never stopped believing in him along the way. “During the whole process, they never quit believing in me. They were always confident that I’d have this opportunity,” he says.

Shuman raved about Molls as a person. The Coach says that Molls’ character is second to none and that the North Royalton resident is someone who makes time for everyone – In fact, he even stopped by Padua’s Football Team workouts on Wednesday to talk to the team.

“The biggest thing about his character that I can’t leave out is how humble he is,” said Shuman. “Talk to any teammate, any classmate, any Padua grad, anyone in the community that knows him. Both Padua, Toledo, St. Albert – everybody agrees.”

“He’s very humble and seems to find a way to make friends with every person in the room. Not just one segment of the population, but guys on the team and people throughout that school and the community. He always developed relationships with those people. He’s got a very special personality.”

It really is easy to tell how humble Molls is just by speaking to him. While he may be a tenacious linebacker on the field, he’s a kind gentleman off of it. There’s no doubt that came from a brilliant family and some stellar coaches. While anyone who watched him could tell that he had the potential to reach this point, he still sees the whole situation as a bit surreal.

“I never thought I’d be in the position where I’m at right now,” said Molls. “I always dreamed about it, but now it’s becoming a reality. It still hasn’t sunk in yet. Just yesterday, I just wanted to play in college and prove that I can play at the Division I level.”

Molls proved to countless offenses and thousands of fans that he can play top-level college ball. Here’s to Molls taking things step by step and proving to millions that he can compete with the best of the best in the NFL.

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